Protecting Highway 108’s Communities, Economies, and Watersheds (SNC1837)

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy is amending grant agreement #1837 with Tuolumne County to provide additional funding for the implementation of approximately 60 additional acres of fuelbreaks along Highway 108 in eastern Tuolumne County. This expansion builds on an existing effort to create between 339 and 594 acres of fuelbreaks in partnership with the Stanislaus National Forest, aiming to safeguard communities, critical infrastructure, and watersheds from the threat of catastrophic wildfires. The treatments will involve a combination of mechanical mastication, hand-thinning, and pruning to reduce ground and ladder fuels up to 12 inches in diameter, improving access for fire suppression and interrupting fire spread. These fuelbreaks serve not only as immediate protective measures but also as strategic anchor points for broader, long-term forest management initiatives. The project is aligned with the Social and Ecological Resilience Across the Landscape (SERAL) 2.0 plan, a collaborative landscape-level strategy developed by the Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions to enhance ecological resilience and community safety across the region.